| New King James Version | New International Version |
| 1“My soul loathes my life; I will give free course to my complaint, I will speak in the bitterness of my soul. | 1"I loathe my very life; therefore I will give free rein to my complaint and speak out in the bitterness of my soul. |
| 2I will say to God, ‘Do not condemn me; Show me why You contend with me. | 2I say to God: Do not declare me guilty, but tell me what charges you have against me. |
| 3Does it seem good to You that You should oppress, That You should despise the work of Your hands, And smile on the counsel of the wicked? | 3Does it please you to oppress me, to spurn the work of your hands, while you smile on the plans of the wicked? |
| 4Do You have eyes of flesh? Or do You see as man sees? | 4Do you have eyes of flesh? Do you see as a mortal sees? |
| 5Are Your days like the days of a mortal man? Are Your years like the days of a mighty man, | 5Are your days like those of a mortal or your years like those of a strong man, |
| 6That You should seek for my iniquity And search out my sin, | 6that you must search out my faults and probe after my sin-- |
| 7Although You know that I am not wicked, And there is no one who can deliver from Your hand? | 7though you know that I am not guilty and that no one can rescue me from your hand? |
| 8‘Your hands have made me and fashioned me, An intricate unity; Yet You would destroy me. | 8"Your hands shaped me and made me. Will you now turn and destroy me? |
| 9Remember, I pray, that You have made me like clay. And will You turn me into dust again? | 9Remember that you molded me like clay. Will you now turn me to dust again? |
| 10Did You not pour me out like milk, And curdle me like cheese, | 10Did you not pour me out like milk and curdle me like cheese, |
| 11Clothe me with skin and flesh, And knit me together with bones and sinews? | 11clothe me with skin and flesh and knit me together with bones and sinews? |
| 12You have granted me life and favor, And Your care has preserved my spirit. | 12You gave me life and showed me kindness, and in your providence watched over my spirit. |
| 13‘And these things You have hidden in Your heart; I know that this was with You: | 13"But this is what you concealed in your heart, and I know that this was in your mind: |
| 14If I sin, then You mark me, And will not acquit me of my iniquity. | 14If I sinned, you would be watching me and would not let my offense go unpunished. |
| 15If I am wicked, woe to me; Even if I am righteous, I cannot lift up my head. I am full of disgrace; See my misery! | 15If I am guilty--woe to me! Even if I am innocent, I cannot lift my head, for I am full of shame and drowned in my affliction. |
| 16If my head is exalted, You hunt me like a fierce lion, And again You show Yourself awesome against me. | 16If I hold my head high, you stalk me like a lion and again display your awesome power against me. |
| 17You renew Your witnesses against me, And increase Your indignation toward me; Changes and war are ever with me. | 17You bring new witnesses against me and increase your anger toward me; your forces come against me wave upon wave. |
| 18‘Why then have You brought me out of the womb? Oh, that I had perished and no eye had seen me! | 18"Why then did you bring me out of the womb? I wish I had died before any eye saw me. |
| 19I would have been as though I had not been. I would have been carried from the womb to the grave. | 19If only I had never come into being, or had been carried straight from the womb to the grave! |
| 20Are not my days few? Cease! Leave me alone, that I may take a little comfort, | 20Are not my few days almost over? Turn away from me so I can have a moment's joy |
| 21Before I go to the place from which I shall not return, To the land of darkness and the shadow of death, | 21before I go to the place of no return, to the land of gloom and utter darkness, |
| 22A land as dark as darkness itself, As the shadow of death, without any order, Where even the light is like darkness.’ ” | 22to the land of deepest night, of utter darkness and disorder, where even the light is like darkness." |
| The Holy Bible, New King James Version, Copyright © 1982 Thomas Nelson. All rights reserved. | New International Version (NIV) Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide. |
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